St Mary's Church

The nave measurements are length 100ft, width 30ft and height 45ft. The Nave's crowning glory is its magnificent double-hammer beam roof At the west end, near the entrance, stands the 15th century font with its glorious cover. Tradition has it that both were originally in the Abbey church in Bury St Edmunds, although there seems to be no evidence to support this.

The seating in the nave dates entirely from the 1660s. Two sets of uniform pews with a wide central gangway between them provide accommodation for around 400 people.

Preserved in the church is the enormous spit of ash-wood 15 feet long, upon which a 50 stone Ox was roasted whole in the grounds of Worlingworth Hall on 25th October 1810 to celebrate the completion of the 50th year of the reign of King George III. The ox was provided by Lord Henniker and it is said that the wood of this spit, being freshly cut, exuded sap which rather spoiled the flavour of the meat. In the south aisle, a huge picture shows the Worlingworth feast on the occasion of this Golden Jubilee.

In the doorway of the nave is kept Worlingworth's old Parish fire engine, made by Newman and Ragg of Cloth Fair, Smithfield, London in 1760 and given by John Major, Lord of the Manor. This was the first type of Fire engine to use compressed air and small though it is, it could produce a jet of water up to 150 feet into the air. It was last used on Guy Fawkes night in 1927.

The tower rises 77ft above the ground. In 1750, the tower was struck by lightning causing considerable damage to the South-East corner. The tower holds a peal of eight bells, the tenor bell weighing 12cwt.Once there was a clock in the tower, a portion of which may still be seen on the second floor.

There are so many fascinating little details at Worlingworth that we won't attempt to mention them all. We'd rather give you the chance to find them yourself, or look them up in Mortlock (he has a website of Suffolk churches) if you'd rather. Suffice to say that this is one of the more interesting churches in East Anglia.

Church Services in St Mary's WorlingworthDetails of other church services taking place in the Benefice, can be found in the Benefice and Village newsletter. For further information, contact a Churchwarden.